Gerardo Martinez has built a life around taking on things other people might avoid: hard work, uncertainty and challenges that demand discipline and resolve. He traces that outlook to the decision he made at 13 to join the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
Martinez enrolled as a Sea Cadet with Division 9-1-1 at Naval Station Great Lakes outside Chicago. He focused on summer trainings and competitive activities, drawn to the structure and expectations.
“I fell in love with Sea Cadets,” Martinez said. “It gave me stuff to do in the summers. I was capable of being very active, and I was physically active, so it was awesome for me.”
Sea Cadets also shaped how he understood leadership. The program demanded attention to detail and performance under pressure, and it exposed him to youth from different parts of the country with different backgrounds and experiences.
“That kind of comfort in uncomfortable situations,” he said, “that was really the beginning for me.”
Martinez later attended the United States Naval Academy and served five years as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. By then, military structure felt familiar, and he found himself leaning into challenge rather than avoiding it.
“Now, I seek those uncomfortable situations,” Martinez said. “If it’s uncomfortable, more than likely I’m going to be there.”
After leaving active duty, Martinez moved into the private sector and later entrepreneurship. Today, he applies the same discipline and adaptability in his work as a regenerative farmer and community leader in Maryland, where he has transformed neglected land into a space centered on family, learning and connection. His work now focuses on restoring land while creating a place where people come together to learn about stewardship, food systems and community responsibility.
That work has drawn national and international attention. Martinez said his farm has hosted visiting presidents and senior dignitaries from Latin America and that several countries have recognized his work by naming him an ambassador for regenerative agriculture in connection with the United Nations. He also said he has traveled to the White House under both the Biden and Trump administrations to advocate on behalf of farmers.
Becoming a parent also reshaped how he thinks about the program. His 11-year-old son, Mariano, is a Navy Leaguer, and Martinez sees Sea Cadets as a practical way to develop leadership, accountability and confidence in young people.
“You’re giving your kid skill sets and skills that he will never learn somewhere else,” he said.
